KOTOR: True Soldier Guide.
Version 1.3
"You Underestimate The Power of The Dark Side"
-Darth Vader
How Right you are Vader. I Know Many of you proably have played as a
Soldier or Guardian, but "You don't know the power of the Dark Side".
The ultimate goal of this guide is for you to end up with a powerful, Lightsaber
wielding, dark sided, Jedi Guardian, soldier.
This is by no means a complete KOTOR guide. I am going to assume you have
played through KOTOR before and are familiar enough with it that
I can skip over many of the basics. Lastly, this document contains spoilers; do
not read any further if the thought of accidentally reading a spoiler will cause
you to become agitated and/or sad.
Table of Contents
1. Character Stats
1.1 Strength
1.2 Dexterity
1.3 Constitution
1.4 Intelligence
1.5 Wisdom
1.6 Charisma
2. Starting Class
3. Skills
4. Feats
4.1 Armour Proficiency Heavy
4.2 Master Power Attack
4.3 Lightsaber Weapon Proficiency
4.4 Implants
5. Jedi Class
6. Force Alignment
7. Force Powers
7.1 Death Field
7.2 Kill
7.3 Force Storm
7.4 Force Wave
7.5 Plague
7.6 Dominate Mind
7.7 Adv. Lightsaber Throw
7.8 Force Imunity
7.9Destroy Droid
8. Allies
8.1 Jolee Bindo
8.2 Juhanni
8.3 Bastilla
8.4 Mission
8.5 Zalbaar
8.6 HK-47
8.7 Canderous
8.8 Others
9. Leveling
10. Equipment
10.1 Implants
10.2 Headgear
10.3 Left Arm
10.4 Left Hand
10.5 Body
10.6 Right Arm
10.7 Right Hand
10.8 Belt
11. Final Results/Thoughts
12. Authorized FAQ Holders.
13. Thanks
1. Character Stats
As we all know, stats can make or break a character. Knowing what the various
stats do, and where to place your stat points are of paramount importance.
Please read the following carefully.
1.1 Strength.
Strength adds to your to-hit and melee weapon damage. This is the 'money' stat,
since we are usingsabers, we can not ignore this stat. Take it to 18.
1.2 Dexterity.
Dexterity adds to your to-hit and ranged weapon damage, as well as adding to
your defense rating. I recommend 10 points for starting.
1.3 Constitution.
This stat determines how many hit points your character receives per level.
I recommend 10 points as a base for this stat. There's no
reason to incur a negative penalty in this stat by placing it at 8; by the same
token any more than 10 can be considered overkill for normal difficulty. With
all of the enhancements your character will receive from items and force powers,
I find that your ending HP is quite sufficient with this amount of stat points.
1.4 Intelligence.
Widely regarded as a waste of stat points. Intelligence raises the amount of
skill points you receive. Since all skill points are relatively useless, we
will leave this at a base of 10, as to not incur a negative penalty.
1.5 Wisdom.
Wisdom raises the amount of force points you receive as well as determines how
effective you are at using and resisting force powers. This is the other
'money' stat for this build. We need to be able to effectively use our force
powers on the enemy without them being resisted as well have the ability to
avoid the enemies force powers. Think of wisdom as force dexterity. I
recommend putting 11 points into this stat. Combined with items, you should be
able to resist most of the dark Jedis' attempts to strike you down with force
powers, while dealing out a beating yourself.
1.6 Charisma.
Charisma determines how amiable you are; how well you interact with others.
The higher your charisma, the better you'll be at being able to persuade. There
are plenty of persuade options in the game, none of which are truly critical.
In addition to being correlated with your persuasion skills, charisma also adds
to the amount of force points your character will have; and to a lesser extent,
the power in which you use the force. Charisma does not have as profound an
effect on your force abilities as wisdom, but the effects are evident,
nonetheless. For example; the more points you put into charisma, the more force
points you'll have available to you for casting force abilities. In addition,
the power in which you use those abilities, will be greater than if your
charisma was lower. I recommend putting 13 points into this stat initially,
and boosting it with various equipment throughout the game.
Note: if you plan on having your character only use the treat injury skill
(described below in greater detail; section 3), you could drop your
intelligence to 8; then using those skill points in charisma, boosting it to
12. If dexterity or wisdom is more of a concern to you, you could also use
those two points to raise them a point, to 17.
My starting stats looked like this:
STR: 18
DEX: 10
CON: 10
INT: 10
WIS: 11
CHA: 13
Every subsequent stat point you receive should go into getting both your
strength, dexterity and wisdom to 20. Because of all the +dexterity equipment
you can getthroughout the game, I recommend getting your wisdom up to
20 before your dexterity.
2. Starting Class
As you've read, we will be choosing the Soldieras our non-Jedi class. Why
choose the Soldier class? More Vitality, good reader, more vitality .
3. Skills
As a Soldier, we get more skills than the other classes. Fortunately, many
of these skills are worth while. I recommend that you max Treat Injury at
every level. The higher your proficiency in treat injury, the more health
you'll gain from medical packs.
With your leftover points, you should do one of two things. Add the points to
Persuade, which if you get high enough, could allow you to put your charisma
stat down to 8. With those two extra points you've saved, you could then move
the points into something more useful, like wisdom, dexterity, or constitution.
You could also, add the points into Repair. The main reason for doing so is
that you may be able to unlock the functions of HK-47 when you purchase him.
Make the choice after determining if you're going to use HK-47 as one of your
main NPC allies or not.
All other skills can be performed masterfully by your allies.
4. Feats
As a Soldier, we get the Most feats of the bunch, but we have to make them
count. I will list the feats you should consider getting, in order of
importance, highest to lowest.
4.1 Armor Proficincy Heavy
Maxing This skill will greatly benifit your charecter, it allows you to where
Heavy Armor .A must have
for this build.
4.2 Master Power Attack
A truly powerfull attack hence it's name, this attack allow the soldier to jump
in the air and land with a damage dealing attack on your enemies.
4.3 Lighsaber Weapon Proficincy
You need level one to use Lighsaber, but when you 'Jedi' you automaticly reciev
this feat. At the maximum level, this feat adds +1 to your to-hit and a +2 on
top of your damage dealt.
4.4 Implants.
Depending on the level invested, will allow you to use level 1, 2, or 3
implants; which in turn can grant bonuses such as mind-immunity and +dexterity.
5. Jedi Class
The Jedi Guardian will be our class of choice for two reasons. The first
reason is that we get more Level-up points as we progress, compared to
the other Jedi classes. The second reason is that we obtain Force Jump. At
master level, force jump gives us a +9 bonus in dealing powerfull
Attacks.
6. Force Alignment
I have only gone through this build as a master dark-sided Jedi, and I believe
this is the best alignment for this build. I'm positive that it can be done as
light-sided, but the force powers that accompany a dark-sided Jedi are much more
aesthetically pleasing to this build. After all, we're supposed to be a Saber
wielding Soldier that hacks his way out of a fight, not a light guardian who
prefers to use the force to do his dirty work. I suppose one could remain
neutral in alignment, but I don't honestly believe that there
are any light-sided powers to use that warrant the penalty
of being aligned as neutral. The choice is yours,
but I will only out line light-side force powers in the next section.
7. Force Powers
As a dark-sided force user, you will use these powers
to enhance your killing and defending abilities .
I will list the more optionalforce powers toward the bottom.
As always, it is your preference as to which ones you'd like to get.
7.1 Death Field
Truley Dark, this power tears life from surrounding enimies and heals the Jedi
by the highest damage suffered. Does not effect droids.
7.2 Kill
A vile use of the Force. The Target must succeed at a Fortitude save
or simply choke and Die. Does not effect droids.
7.3 Force Storm.
An electrical attack on all enemies near the target, inflicting level-based
damage to both vitality and Force piont totals. Not useable with armor.
7.4 Force Wave
The Force pulses from the Jedi . Nearby enemies are thrown back and
knocked down, suffering damage modified by the Jedi's level. May
also stun target
*Any spell I list below here, you should consider optional in maxing, or getting
altogether.
7.5 Plague.
Horribly deibiltating, this power slows the target and inflicts attribute
penalties that get worse over time.
7.6 Dominate Mind.
Putting a point into this skill opens up a new dialog option; force persuade.
Get this skill if your persuasion is low, be careful as many of the persuade
options are inherently dark-sided in nature. Try to avoid using this on any of
your allies, as they'll usually know when you're using the power on them.
As a dark-side user, you should force peopleagainst their
will.
7.7 Adv. Lightsaber Throw
Using the Force, the Jedi guided the lightsaber to the
target and back. Attacks all enemies within 5 meters
of the first target. A successful attack confers
level based damage.
7.8 Force Imunity.
This power has it's downside and it's up side. The up is that this power Resits
ALL enemy Force Powers. The down is that it only works for 1 minute.
7.9 Destroy Droid.
Not only will this force power deal damage to a droid(s), it will stun them for
a period of time as well. At master level, this power turns enemy droids into
free experience. Normally, I allocate this power to one of my Jedi allies;
Jolee can easily get this to master level.
8. Allies
I won't explicitly tell you who to use in this section, but rather gloss over
the party members, who I feel, benefit you the most during your journey.
Remember that you are a ranged attacker that benefits from stunned or
pre-occupied opponents. Jedi party members can fill both roles, but certain
non-Jedi members bring some other, much welcomed, benefits to the party.
8.1 Jolee Bindo.
Jolee is a neutrally-aligned Jedi counselor. He is helpful in many regards.
If you fail to stun one or two opponents Jolee can chime in with a stasis field
of his own. When you encounter mini-bosses, Jolee can use Force Kill on
individual targets or Force Lightning on groups of targets; making your life
much easier. If you're tied up in battle, or simply don't have the force
reserves, he can cast force heal or force valor in a pinch. Let's not also
forget that this game has many, hard-to-kill droids. Have Jolee get Destroy
Droid, and you can cake-walk past their broken hulls.
8.2 Juhanni.
Juhanni is a light-sided Jedi guardian. As a guardian, Juhanni should be used
as a melee combatant, engaging opponents while you work your game. Give her
force speed and force healing, and she can be force to be reckoned with.
8.3 Bastilla.
As a light-sided Jedi, you will have to battle Bastilla on both the unnamed
world, and the star forge. For these reasons, I recommend developing her as
little as possible. It doesn't hurt to do her side-quest or romantic story,
but the star forge battle may take longer than if you hadn't. Make sure you
strip her of all equipment before you run into Malak on the Leviathan.
8.4 Mission.
Mission is a non-Jedi scoundrel. At first glance, Mission doesn't seem like a
very competent combatant. She is, however, quite the opposite. Mission shines
for one reason and one reason only; sneak attack. Unlike your character,
Mission's sneak attack ability can increase to level 9, which can deal massive
damage on top of her attacks. You can equip her in a plethora of attack options
such as a melee combatant, rifle user, or blaster pistol user.
There are many good melee weapons in the game, and some can come close to being
as powerful as finely crafted light-sabers. Have Mission use a double bladed
weapon with flurry on stunned opponents, and she will probably kill faster than
even you. The downside to Mission as a melee combatant is that she has a low
hit point pool. Boost her constitution with equipment, implants, and force
valor to keep her going.
8.5 Zalbaar.
You can't assume that because someone is a Wookie that they should use a
crossbow. One look at Zalbaar's stats and you should be able to tell that he is
befitting a melee warrior. Equip him with some of the great double bladed
weapons throughout the game and use him as a high hit point tank. Raise his
already high strength to do some extra damage, or raise his constitution to
help him live longer. Make sure you get him the level 3 implant feat since he
cannot equip armor or headgear. Because of his high hit point pool, make sure
you put all of his skill points into treat injury; otherwise you'll be using a
lot of force heal and medical kits to get him back to full health.
8.6 HK-47.
If you've taken the time, and invested the points to repair HK-47's latent
abilities, he can become a very helpful ally. A good heavy blaster, and flame
thrower will serve him well. He has a high hit point pool, but can only be
healed by using repair parts. He is also very expensive to upgrade. If you
wish to use HK, brush up on your Pazaak skills to get some easy money.
8.7 Carth, T3, Canderous Ordo.
I will skip these teammates because I feel the other allies listed above do
their job better. Mission wields pistols better than Carth.
T3 is the weakest combat character. HK-47, Mission, and Zalbaar can all
competently replace Canderous in battle, as well.
9. Leveling
There are many viable options as to how you level up your character. Do you
save a majority of your levels until you become a Jedi, or do you level up as a
scoundrel before becoming a Jedi?
There is no definitive right or wrong answer. If you save your levels until
you become a Jedi, you will have more force powers to use, or you can level
as much as possible as a Soldier.
If you're into making your character streamlined toward one end of the spectrum
or the other, by all means, go for one of the above strategies. For a more
balanced approach, I reccomend getting to a level 5 or 7 Soldier
The damage doesn't increase much between level 3 and 4 , but you
can still get all of your core force powers, including extras, as a level 7
Soldier.
10. Equipment
There are various FAQ's touching on the equipment throughout KOTOR. Feel free
to use them in scouting out the equipment you'd like for you and your allies.
I will list, briefly, in this section what my final character was wearing. The
equipment you use can be open to so much debate, that to think that any one
setup is the definitive, would be silly. I was under much duress as to which
equipment I used; I hope you take as much consideration.
10.1 Implant.
I mainly used +dexterity implants throughout the game. At endgame, my character
was using the Advanced Alacrity, level 3 implant. Dexterity +5.
10.2 Headgear.
I can't think of a better headpiece to wear than the Band of Naga Sadow . It
grants a +5 to wisdom. If you use this headgear, you could leave your wisdom
at 19; the +5 from the helmet will put your end statistic at 24, for the extra
+2 bonus.
10.3 Left Arm.
I used various shields throughout the game on both arms.
Use them before engaging Sith, droids or Mandalorians
to absorb the blaster damage.
10.4 Left Hand.
My offhand. Believe it or not, I was still using a fully
upgraded Vibro-Poison Bladeup to the last battle.
This Blade deals amoderate 5-10 damage, but also sports
a +3 to attack modifier.
10.5 Body.
Before you become a Jedi, make use of the various light armors you find on Taris
that don't give big penalties to dexterity. I recommend not investing in medium
or heavy armors as you will be unable to cast various force powers later in the
game when you are wearing them. I could not find a better robe than a simple
Jedi Master Robe. My defense ended up at 33.
You can, however, find better robes. Qel-Droma's Robe is a light-side only
robe that is found on Korriban. The Star Forge/Darth Revan robe would also be
a good choice if you can manage to get them.
10.6 Right Arm.
Once again, I used mainly shields throughout the game. If you're knee deep in
action, you may consider using Brejik's Arm Band and Belt to suppress melee
damage. This is a good setup for dueling on Taris.
10.7 Right Hand.
Take note that you should be using your highest damage
Saber in your main hand.
The best Crystal in the game is the Mantel of the Force. It
does a huge 7-20 damage.
You will, of course, pay dearly for a crystal this good,
but to use anything less
would be criminal. This item can be bought on Yavin.
10.8 Belt.
I found a nifty little belt in my journeys, the Adrenaline Stimulator. This
belt boosts your dexterity +2 and adds a +4 to all saves.
11. Final Analysis
Let's quickly recap what you should have accomplished through reading this
guide. You are Hard to Kill Soldier , who can use THE Powerfull Attack,
you wear only a robe, yet your defense is very high; your saving throws
are unparalleled. You're also a dark-sided Jedi
Guardian who casts Force powers to kill his/her enemies.
The only good compliment to a Saber by your side is a stunned
opponent in front of you; Kill is the basis of all your attacks.
12. Authorized FAQ Holders.
gamefaqs.com
neoseeker.com
13. Thanks
Above all else, I hope you have fun experimenting, and tinkering with this
build. I also hope that some of you may be influenced to write some
'not-so-run-of-the-mill' build order guides in the future. All feedback and
correction information can be sent to the following email address:
greyfox259@yahoo.com
Thanks for reading,
-Age of Knights
(10/19/05)
This work is copyrighted. Any who copy it will be
prosicuted o the full extent of the law
All statistics and information were
derived from the PC version of Star Wars:
Knights of the Old Republic; published
by Lucas Arts, developed by BioWare.
V 1.0. Everything's new.
v 1.2. Fixed copyright info, and added
list of authorized FAQ holders.
v 1.3 Fixed starting stats